Puzzle
by singing ferret
Summary: An old Ibiki Morino meets a confused plot device.   Disclaimer:  I do not own Naruto characters or village.


PROLOGUE

Anzara struggled to stay aloft. Every nerve in her body was screaming, her chakra network was sparking, not to mention the muscle spasms in her shoulders and back. If that flying…whatever…had been any more solid, she would be dead right now. Fortunately it had been only a fading possibility, not reality, when it tore through her wings.

How had Baki managed all these years? Baki couldn't fly. He had to stay ground bound through every time quake. Anzara had to move mighty sharp to avoid suddenly appearing skyscrapers, helicopters, pterodactyls, and random airborne projectiles. Baki rode out the chaos like a surfer on a tsunami, and she had no idea how he did it.

Forget staying aloft! That pinnacle hadn't shifted, faded or fallen since before the flying whatever had tried to kill her. Anzara needed to sit down before she fell down, and that single mountain had a handy ledge that looked like a good place to perch. She sent one last chakra pulse at the ledge before committing herself. The echo came back stable: Apparently the time quake was over for now. She plopped gracelessly onto the lichen and moss covered stones. There would be bruises in the morning, but it had been too much effort to land softly. She needed to sleep, and here on the rocky, sun-warmed ledge would do fine.

In the morning she would look for Baki. He had to be around somewhere. He always was.

Morino Ibiki pulled sore, tired bones up the last step to T&I's back entrance. Oh, he could use the front door located near the center of town. He could, but he wouldn't; not as long as his old, abused muscles could make the trip. He had decided, back when he was recovering from the war, that he would retire the day he could no longer climb the back side of the Hokage Monument. That was thirty years and two Hokages ago. It took him awhile, but he could still make it.

It was a complement to the T&I Department's architect that the stranger had mistaken the entrance for a natural ledge. It did leave Ibiki with the annoyance of what to do with …her? All he could see was the crown of the stranger's head and one delicate bare foot, but he thought the stranger was probably a her. Everything else was covered by a feather cloak. He couldn't guess what bird had donated those odd fur-like feathers.

Ibiki felt his lip twitch as his annoyance gave way to humor. Over the years he had seen many unusual characters dropped on T&I's figurative doorstep. But this was the first time he had come to work to find someone actually sleeping across the entryway.

He heard a soft, almost-sigh, and slid back into the door blind. He hadn't survived four wars and five Hokages by being careless.

The stranger stood clumsily, using the rock face to climb to her feet, her hand narrowly missing the recessed latch to the door of T&I. Once upright, she turned to face the rising sun, and stretched out the morning kinks.

Stranger indeed! No wonder Ibiki hadn't known what bird those feather's had come from. That was no cloak the woman was wearing: Those wings were hers! He really could not describe her garment as anything but functional, nothing more than a sheath held up by a gold collar, open in the back to allow freedom for both pair of wings, and a sleeve opening for her tail. It preserved modesty, but didn't provide much for warmth.

What was she, one of Orochimaru's strayed creations? There had been some nasty surprises escape from that destroyed compound. This was not a good place for a fight, and she stood between the door blind and the door. This could get very messy very fast.

The stranger tilted her head like a curious bird, and pivoted making eye contact with Ibiki. "Baki?"

Ibiki blinked. "Ibiki", he corrected.

The stranger's nostrils flared, trying to catch his scent. Then she pulled back, shook herself like a bird shedding rainwater, and toppled sideways over the side of the ledge.

Ibiki watched as she spread her wings, caught the updraft, and lazily circled upward. He watched the glide change to a heavy beating as she hovered directly over the faces of the Hokage monument. He heard a shout, but too distorted to pick out the words. Then she streaked out of sight.

"Impossible!" Anzara spat at the mountain. She recognized four of the seven faces carved into it. Those faces belonged to a shinobi universe. The Council had felt this universe was drawing too much life energy from the Council's own timeline and had demanded it be destroyed.

Baki had been given the assignment. The Council stated they didn't care how he did it, just so long as "that universe" ceased to exist.

Baki had explained to her that once a "what if" universe was born it could never be unborn. It could, however, be reduced to a bit of fiction. It had taken Baki weeks to wrestle this particular universe, and it's associated branches, down to just an idea then had planted that idea into a manga writer's dreams. The Shinobi Universe thrived as a manga, then an anime, and then as multiplying strands of fan fiction. It created imagination and life energy instead of draining it. It was thoughts and ideas and dreams, but it was no longer solid reality.

So, how had she been able to spend the night sleeping on the Hokage Mountain? Yesterday's time quake had been severe….She had to find Baki! She had to warn him: His dream weavings were coming unraveled!


End file.
